Ripa was born on June 2, 2478 in the state of Moram on Malurok. Before his role as an Arbiter, Ripa 'Moramee served under the Ministry of Preservation, quelling internal dissent within the Covenant.[1] One of his many missions was the suppression of the Sixteenth Unggoy Disobedience and ending the heretical reign of a Kig-Yar "pirate prince", Krith at some point prior to 2525. Later, he attempted a coup within his clan on Malurok; the coup failed, and he was imprisoned in the Weeping Shadows of Sorrow penitentiary, for both his insubordination and failure. 'Moramee was threatened by many of his fellow inmates for the dishonor he had brought upon his clan. He eventually managed to incite them to attack the guards, using this distraction as an opportunity to escape. However, he was soon recaptured and was heavily beaten. 'Moramee would have died in the prison had it not been for the intervention of the Hierarchs—specifically the Prophet of Regret—who appointed him as the Arbiter, and tasked him with conducting the war of extermination against humanity and uncovering Forerunner artifacts as the commander of a military force under Regret's personal supervision.[1][5]

Regret's decision led to concerned mumbling among the Prophets' Honor Guards, who had no prior knowledge of this plan.[2] 'Moramee was not selected just for his combat record alone; the Covenant leaders believed that he, as the new Arbiter, would not ask politically inconvenient questions—an important factor given the secret status of humanity as Forerunner-designated Reclaimers.[6] The creation of a new Arbiter caused a split in the Covenant: an ever-growing faction of Sangheili, who were opposed to the new Prophets, seized control of several Forerunner relics, including remnants of a massive Forerunner space installation that supposedly contained a "key" of some sort that could activate Forerunner technology. The Arbiter was sent by the Hierarchs to end this rebellion, resulting in a vicious battle that raged for days which ended with the destruction of many heretics. The rebellion was silenced, but the mysterious key, however, was never found.[7]

As the Covenant began laying siege to humanity's Outer Colonies, the Prophet of Regret personally tasked 'Moramee with retaking Harvest—a human agriculture world. Shortly after, 'Moramee assembled the Covenant Fleet of Glorious Interdiction and led them into battle during the Harvest campaign in 2531.[1] The UNSC was aware of his presence, but was unable to gather more than cursory intelligence used to construct a target profile on him.[3] Ripa 'Moramee oversaw the excavation of a Forerunner site in the planet's northern polar region.[6] The installation's entrance was uncovered by Field MasterRe'gish Wamik, and the area was quickly investigated by Covenant forces.[8] During the excavation of the relic, 'Moramee sent in numerous squads of Unggoy to ensure the interior was safe. The Unggoy would live if the path was clear, but if they demonstrated any fear or if the slightest amount of trouble was detected, 'Moramee would detonate plasma bombs that were attached to their methane tanks to clear out any possible threat.[7]

Despite concerns by Field Master Wamik that the Flood may be present in the installation, 'Moramee pressed on due to the impatience and pressure of the Hierarchs. With the UNSC closing in, the Prophet of Regret ordered him to destroy the installation and return to the Covenant with the information he had gathered. Ripa 'Moramee was reluctant to destroy the Forerunner construction but complied nonetheless upon the continued insistence of the Prophet.[8] The attempt to destroy the relic failed when the demolition teams were thwarted by UNSC ground forces deployed from the orbiting UNSC Spirit of Fire.[9]

The Arbiter discusses plans with the Prophet of Regret on Shield 0459.

"The Ancients have granted us the power to doom your race. Let the deconstruction of our great gifts begin! The majesty of our new fleet will be unparalleled!"

— Ripa 'Moramee preaching to his brethren upon the activation of the dormant Forerunner fleet on the shield world

The information from the Forerunner structure on Harvest led the Covenant to the human Outer Colony of Arcadia in the Procyon system, the location of Forerunner artifacts.[10] While some Covenant forces attacked Arcadian settlements and cities, others scoured the planet's dense jungles where the collection of Forerunner ruins was discovered. After they found the ruins, the Covenant deployed a massive dome-shaped energy shield on the planet surface to prevent the UNSC forces from reaching the structures. However, they ultimately failed to prevent the UNSC from assaulting the Forerunner site.[11]

Inside shield world known as Etran Harborage,, Ripa 'Moramee and the Prophet of Regret were both involved in an attempt to activate a dormant fleet of Forerunner dreadnoughts at the Apex Site within the shield world. During this operation, 'Moramee was concerned about why he was not fulfilling his task of destroying humanity, when he should command all their forces for a frontal assault; Regret stated that they need the Forerunner ships to increase the size of their fleets, so that the Covenant would not have to dedicate all their forces for the war effort and thus leave themselves defenseless. After Covenant attempts to interface with the Forerunner technology failed, 'Moramee was sent on a mission to capture Professor Ellen Anders during the Battle of Arcadia by the Prophet of Regret, as it was believed she would have information and knowledge of how to interface with Forerunner structures that the Covenant did not.[12] Following Regret's commands, 'Moramee returned to Arcadia and ambushed Anders while she was documenting the remains of a Type-29 Scarab. While the Arbiter attempted to capture Anders, MarineSergeant John Forge intervened. The Arbiter dropped Anders and charged at Forge. Forge attempted to kill the Sangheili with his M6C magnum, but it had little effect against the Arbiter's armor. 'Moramee attacked the Marine with his energy swords but before he could kill him, Anders surrendered herself to save Forge's life. Satisfied, the Arbiter grabbed Anders and escaped in a Spirit dropship to an awaiting ship seconds before SpartanRed Team arrived.[13]

Forge and Red Team returned to the UNSC Spirit of Fire and pursued 'Moramee's vessel through slipspace.[13] 'Moramee reached the shield world first and imprisoned her in a stasis field at the Apex. Shortly after, a Spirit dropship delivered the Prophet of Regret to the Apex. While the two commented on Anders' frail appearance, a Sangheili Zealot warned the Arbiter of Spirit of Fire's arrival. Angered, 'Moramee punched the Zealot several feet backwards and ordered Regret's Honor Guard to return him to High Charity. Then, he ordered for his fleet to intercept the human ship and destroy it.[14] The destroyerProclamation's Tithe intercepted and attacked Spirit of Fire, but the human ship was able to escape.[15] Some time later, the Arbiter returned to Anders and released her from the stasis field. 'Moramee forced her to interface with the Forerunner controls and begin activating the Forerunner fleet. While the Arbiter began to charismatically preach about the activation of the dreadnoughts and the other Sangheili were distracted by the event, Anders managed to escape from 'Moramee through the Apex's translocation system and alerted the UNSC of the Covenant's intentions.[16]

The Arbiter meets his fate at Sergeant Forge's hands after the battle for control of the Apex Site.

"My face will be the last thing your pathetic eyes ever see."

— 'Moramee gloating over Sergeant Forge, moments before his very own demise

Sergeant Forge and Spartan Red Team were quickly dispatched to Apex Site with orders to destroy the shield world using the Spirit of Fire's removed Shaw-Fujikawa drive by causing its core to overheat, thereby causing the shield world's internal sun to go supernova. As several Stealth Sangheili assaulted the Apex, 'Moramee used his active camouflage unit to ambush and kill the Marine lieutenant in charge of opening an elevator which led into the sun. While Red Team engaged in combat with the Stealth Sangheili, Forge took on the Arbiter.[17]

As the fight between the two began, Forge managed to disarm his opponent despite the physical disparity between himself and the Arbiter, relying on combat skill rather than raw strength. However, 'Moramee quickly fought off Forge and incapacitated him with a punch to the stomach. The Arbiter then proceeded to taunt and injure him by throwing him around the Apex. Feigning defeat, Forge challenged 'Moramee to look him in the eye before killing him. The Arbiter complied and lifted the sergeant by his neck while unwittingly bringing his own neck within the reach of his opponent. Forge drove his combat knife—"Lucy"—into his adversary's neck, then used the incapacitated Arbiter's dropped energy sword to stab him through the chest, killing 'Moramee. Ripa 'Moramee's corpse was rolled off the platform by Alice-130 of Red Team shortly before the translight engine overheated and destroyed the shield world.[17]

Ripa 'Moramee was an extremely brutal and ruthless commander. Despite being a Sangheili, he showed an uncharacteristic, blantant disregard for Sangheili traditional values such as honor and arrogantly underestimated his foes, ignoring the advice of his subordinates. He is also extremely tall and muscular compared to most Sangheili.

Before he met the Prophet of Regret, he felt the Great Journey didn't include one such as himself stating he would "be left here to rot like garbage". It was not till he was made an Arbiter that he proved himself to be fanatically loyal to the Hierarchs, especially the Prophet of Regret, and carried out his task to eradicate humanity with fervent zeal and efficiency as a means to secure his place in the Great Journey.[7][2]

He was also unusually violent and quick to anger. 'Moramee was noted for not discriminating who he directed his rage at.[4] When his orders to open the Forerunner relic on Harvest were questioned by Field MasterRe'gish Wamik, he verbally lashed out at his subordinate, telling him "I care not for your little life!"[8] During a visit to the Apex Site, Regret pondered on how to activate the Forerunner ships contained within. Ripa's response was that he would "Take what we have!" in regards to the Covenant fleet; during this outburst, he made the considerably foolish decision of activating his energy swords in the presence of the Prophet of Regret, with no intention of using it before putting it away.[12] This is a blatant disregard of both Covenant laws, as he drew a weapon in the presence of a Hierarch, and traditional Sangheili customs—a drawn weapon is said to "demand blood" before it can be stowed again, although this could be because he was demanding the blood of humanity. His status as Arbiter most likely kept the Honor Guard present from killing him on the spot, though they did react slightly. While at the Apex during an attempted interrogation of Ellen Anders, he struck a Sangheili Zealot—throwing him to the ground and presumably knocking him unconscious—upon being informed that the UNSC Spirit of Fire had followed them to the shield world.[14] This is clearly unacceptable behavior, as the Sangheili who was knocked down not only did nothing wrong, but also held a very high rank.

As the Arbiter, 'Moramee was very arrogant and bold. Ripa was known to toy with his enemies, fighting more to cause pain than to kill. When he fought Sergeant John Forge, he took the time to taunt the Marine at several points, which included insulting the rest of the human species at the same time. Considering his strength, he also could have easily killed Forge outright with the punch to his stomach or at least follow with a killing blow, but instead opted to hold back so as to make Forge suffer for his last few moments. The Arbiter also showed a particular fondness for grabbing humans by the neck, as seen several times in his interactions with Ellen Anders and John Forge, at one point lifting and dragging Anders by the throat despite orders to capture her unharmed. This is probably an expression of his cruel and dominating behavior, as it is likely that 'Moramee would take pleasure in demonstrating his physical superiority over the humans. This arrogance and sadism would eventually prove to be his downfall in his final battle with Forge, during which he chose to taunt and humiliate his opponent while he could easily have killed the human after he gained the upper hand.[17]

Ripa 'Moramee is the primary antagonist of Halo Wars and a leader in multiplayer.[18] He is the second Arbiter to appear as a character in the universe, with the first being Thel 'Vadam. His lines were performed by Canadian voice actor David Sobolov, while the character was digitally animated for cutscenes by the California-based animation studio Blur Studio.[19]

Early renders of 'Moramee depict his Arbiter armor with various additions to the Halo 3 Arbiter armor, including a mouth guard and spiked wrist guards. These were removed in later versions, probably because they were radically different from the standard Arbiter armor.

It appears as though 'Moramee's energy swords may be integrated into his armor. If one looks carefully enough, the hilts of his swords can be seen flipping out from their concealed position on the Elite's wrists upon activation. This would explain his ability to draw his blades so quickly, and the reason he appears to possess no visible weapons when not in battle.

An Easter egg in the hint text from Halo Wars claims "Few people know that the Arbiter's given birth name is Shirley," referring to his line from the first level in response the Regret's command to destroy the relic on Harvest: "Surely you jest!" This refers to a running gag in the Naked Gun series which also appears in the movie Airplane!: "Surely you can't be serious!?" "I am serious, and don't call me Shirley!"

On June 28, 2017, Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee was added as a leader for Halo Wars 2 multiplayer.